Yes, that is right, Will Ferrell was not the original choice when the script was drafted. Hard to imagine anyone else, right? However, if anyone could have pulled off Buddy the Elf besides Ferrell it probably would have been Carrey.
Why didn't it happen?
You see, the film is much older than it's release date. The story and the script were drafted back in 1993 (the film was released in 2003). David Berenbaum put the script together specifically with Jim Carrey in mind for the lead role. Jim Carrey showed some interest in the role early on, however, this was right around the time that Carrey came out with Ace Venture: Pet Detective... which ultimately made him a star. Once that happened, the movie offers started rolling in for Carrey which made Buddy the Elf an after thought.
After Carrey left, the project floated around in development for almost 10 years before Jon Favreau picked it up and decided he could do something with it.
Ferrell, surprisingly showed interest in the lead role after just coming off of a starring role in Old School which was seemingly launching his career into orbit. It would be risky to take on a squeaky clean family comedy after his success in a much different type of film(Old School) with a much different kind of audience.
However, the film was an overwhelming success. With a budget of only $33M, the film has brought in more than $220M to date. It is mentioned as one of the greatest holiday films of all time and is often played during the Christmas holidays on several different television channels. Rotten Tomatoes even gives it a score of 84%, which is quite favorable.
With the film's success there were rumors of a second "Elf". It was even reported that Ferrell was offered close to $30M to return as the lead. Ferrell, however, turned down the offer saying; "it would be quite easy to turn down that much money just thinking about reading all of the terrible reviews the film would receive."
My Review:
I just saw this film for the first time all the way through, last night. I had seen bits and pieces of it before and honestly I didn't care for it much then, but something about watching it all the way through while sitting down with the whole family... made it quite enjoyable to watch. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it as some good clean fun for the entire family!
Have you seen the film? If so, could Jim Carrey have pulled off Buddy the Elf?
Live well my friends!
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Carrey
http://thefw.com/things-you-didnt-know-about-elf/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elf_(film)
Image Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elf_(film)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Carrey
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Ferrell
